Frequently Asked Questions on alt.cyberpunk
Assembled by Erich Schneider (erich@bush.cs.tamu.edu)
Posted every two weeks
This is a FAQ list for alt.cyberpunk. It is inspired by, but is not a
direct descendant of, the previous unofficial FAQ, originally compiled
by Andy Hawks, and later edited by Tim Oerting.
I have been an alt.cyberpunk reader since 1988, and have seen many a
FAQ get asked in my time. I am dedicated to answering your questions
and keeping this document up to date and available. If you have
comments, criticisms, additions, questions, or just general invective,
send to erich@bush.cs.tamu.edu. (I especially welcome reports of
"broken links", either in the ASCII or HTML versions.) Send to that
address as well if you would like the latest version of this document.
The latest archived version is available as
"ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/". There is also a
version that has been marked up with the HTML markup language, and is
suitable for viewing with World Wide Web browsers like Netscape Navigator
and Microsoft Explorer; the URL is
"http://bush.cs.tamu.edu/~erich/alt.cp.faq.html".
A vast number of the "answers" here should be prefixed with an "in my
opinion". It would be ridiculous for me to claim to be an ultimate
cyberpunk authority.
(A note on filenames: files or directories listed as being available
by anonymous FTP are in the format "hostname:filename". Thus, the
filename above (for this FAQ list itself) indicates the host is
"rtfm.mit.edu" and the filename is "/pub/usenet/news.answers/cyberpunk-faq".
Filenames of this type will always be given in quotes, to avoid
problems with trailing periods.)
---
1. What is cyberpunk, the literary movement?
2. What is cyberpunk, the subculture?
3. What is cyberspace?
How does it relate to today's "net" and "virtual reality"?
4. Cyberpunk books
5. Magazines about cyberpunk and related topics
6. Cyberpunk in visual media (movies and TV)
What about movies based on Gibson's stories?
Gibson's _Alien 3_ script?
7. _Blade Runner_
8. Cyberpunk music. What about Billy Idol's album?
9. What is [famous person]'s email address?
10. What is this "PGP" everyone is talking about?
11. Agrippa: what, and where, is it?
12. Other on-line resources
---
1. What is cyberpunk, the literary movement?
Gardner Dozois, one of the editors of _Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction
Magazine_ during the early '80s, is generally acknowledged as the
first person to popularize the term "cyberpunk" describing a body of
literature. Dozois doesn't claim to have coined the term; he says he
picked it up "on the street somewhere". It is probably no coincidence
that Bruce Bethke wrote a short story titled "Cyberpunk" in 1980,
submitted it then to _Asimov's_ when Dozois may have been doing first
readings, and got it published in _Amazing_ in 1983, when Dozois was
editor of _1983 Year's Best SF_ and would be expected to be reading
the major SF magazines. But as Bethke says, "who gives a rat's ass,
anyway?!". (Bethke is not really a cyberpunk author; in mid-1995 he
published _Headcrash_, which he calls "a cybernetically-aware
comedy". Thanks to Bruce for his help on this issue.)
Before its christening, the "cyberpunk movement", known to its members
as "The Movement", had existed for quite some time, centered around
Bruce Sterling's samizdat, _Cheap Truth_. Authors like Sterling,
Rudy Rucker, and John Shirley submitted articles pseudonymously to this
newsletter, hyping the works of people in the group and vigorously
attacking the "SF mainstream". This helped form the core "movement
consciousness". (The run of _Cheap Truth_ is available by anonymous
FTP in the directory "ftp.io.com:/pub/usr/shiva/SMOF-BBS/cheap.truth".)
Cyberpunk literature, in general, deals with marginalized people in
technologically-enhanced cultural "systems". In cyberpunk stories'
settings, there is usually a "system" which dominates the lives of
most "ordinary" people, be it an oppresive government, a group of
large, paternalistic corporations, or a fundamentalist religion. These
systems are enhanced by certain technologies (today advancing at a
rate that is bewildering to most people), particularly "information
technology" (computers, the mass media), making the system better at
keeping those within it inside it. Often this technological system
extends into its human "components" as well, via brain implants,
prosthetic limbs, cloned or genetically engineered organs, etc. Humans
themselves become part of "the Machine". This is the "cyber" aspect of
cyberpunk.
However, in any cultural system, there are always those who live on
its margins, on "the Edge": criminals, outcasts, visionaries, or those
who simply want freedom for its own sake. Cyberpunk literature focuses
on these people, and often on how they turn the system's technological
tools to their own ends. This is the "punk" aspect of cyberpunk.
The best cyberpunk works are distinguished from previous work with
similar themes by a certain style. The setting is urban, the mood is
dark and pessimistic. Concepts are thrown at the reader without
explanation, much like new developments are thrown at us in our
everyday lives. There is often a sense of moral ambiguity; simply
fighting "the system" (to topple it, or just to stay alive) does not
make the main characters "heroes" or "good" in the traditional sense.
---
2. What is cyberpunk, the subculture?
Spurred on by cyberpunk literature, in the mid-1980's certain groups
of people started referring to themselves as cyberpunk, because they
correctly noticed the seeds of the fictional "techno-system" in
Western society today, and because they identified with the
marginalized characters in cyberpunk stories. Within the last few
years, the mass media has caught on to this, spontaneously dubbing
certain people and groups "cyberpunk". Specific subgroups which are
identified with cyberpunk are:
Hackers, Crackers, and Phreaks: "Hackers" are the "wizards" of the
computer community; people with a deep understanding of how their
computers work, and can do things with them that seem
"magical". "Crackers" are the real-world analogues of the "console
cowboys" of cyberpunk fiction; they break in to other people's
computer systems, without their permission, for illicit gain or simply
for the pleasure of exercising their skill. "Phreaks" are those who do
a similar thing with the telephone system, coming up with ways to
circumvent phone companies' calling charges and doing clever things
with the phone network. All three groups are using emerging computer
and telecommunications technology to satisfy their individualist
goals.
Cypherpunks: These people think a good way to bollix "The System" is
through cryptography and cryptosystems. They believe widespread use of
extremely hard-to-break coding schemes will create "regions of privacy"
that "The System" cannot invade.
Ravers: These are the folks who use synthesized and sampled music,
computer-generated psychedelic ("cyberdelic") art, and designer drugs
to create massive all-night dance parties and love-fests in empty
warehouses.
However, one person's "cyberpunk" is another's everyday obnoxious
teenager with some technical skill thrown in, or just someone looking
for the latest trend to identify with. This has led many people
to look at self-designated "cyberpunks" in a negative light. Also,
there are those who claim that "cyberpunk" is undefinable (which
in some sense it is, being concerned with outsiders and rebels), and
resent the mass media's use of the label, seeing it as a cynical
marketing ploy.
---
3. What is cyberspace?
How does it relate to today's "net" and "virtual reality"?
To my knowledge, the term "cyberspace" was first used by William
Gibson in his story "Burning Chrome". That work first describes users
using devices called "cyberdecks" to override their normal sensory
organs, presenting them with a full-sensory interface to the world
computer network; when doing so, said users are "in cyberspace". (The
concept had appeared prior to Gibson, most notably in Vernor Vinge's
story "True Names".) "Cyberspace" is thus the metaphorical "place"
where one "is" when accessing the world computer net.
Even though Gibson's vision of how cyberspace operates is in some
senses absurd, it has stimulated many in the computing community. The
word "cyberspace" is becoming commonly used in the "mainstream world"
in reference to the emergent world-wide computer network (especially
the Internet). Also, some researchers in the "virtual reality" area of
computer science are trying to implement something like Gibson's
information space. However, "cyberspace" is also used to refer to any
computer-generated VR environment, even if its purpose is not
"accessing the net".
---
4. Cyberpunk books
The following is intended to be a short list of the best in-print
cyberpunk works. Note that quite a few works written before 1980 have
been retroactively labelled "cyberpunk", because of stylistic
similarities (like Pynchon's _Gravity's Rainbow_), or similar themes
(Brunner's _The Shockwave Rider_, Delany's _Nova_).
William Gibson's _Neuromancer_, about a cracker operating in
cyberspace, a cybernetically-enhanced bodyguard/mercenary, and a pair
of mysterious AIs, got the ball rolling as far as cyberpunk is
concerned. It won the Hugo, Nebula, P. K. Dick, Seiun, and Ditmar awards,
something no other SF work has done. Gibson wrote two sequels in the
same setting, _Count Zero_ and _Mona Lisa Overdrive_.
Gibson also has a collection of short stories, _Burning Chrome_, which
contains three stories in _Neuromancer_'s setting, as well as several
others, such as the excellent "The Winter Market" and "Dogfight".
Gibson's two most recent works are _Virtual Light_ and _Idoru_; they
share a setting (San Francisco and Tokyo, respectively, of the near
future) and a few characters, but are otherwise independent. Compare
to his first trilogy, the technology they posit is less advanced in
some ways and they are more theme-driven than plot-driven, but they
deal with many of the same concerns as other cyberpunk works. ("Idoru"
is a Japanese borrowing of the English "idol", and refers to a
media-company-manufactured pop-music star, a "virtual" example of
which plays a prominent role in _Idoru_.)
Bruce Sterling's anthology _Crystal Express_ contains all of the
"Shaper/Mechanist" short stories about the future humanity and
"post-humanity". Those short stories are also available with
_Schismatrix_, a Shaper/Mechanist novel, in the combined volume
_Schismatrix Plus_. Also to be found in _Crystal Express_ is
"Green Days in Brunei", a story which shares the setting of
Sterling's novel _Islands in the Net_. Both are near-future
extrapolations in worlds very similar to our own. Sterling also
has another collection in print, _Globalhead_.
Sterling edited _Mirrorshades: A Cyberpunk Anthology_, which contains
stories by many authors; some are questionably cyberpunk, but it has
some real gems ("Mozart in Mirrorshades" being one).
Sterling's latest novel is _Holy Fire_, set in a "gerontocratic" late
21st century Earth dominated by the "medical-industrial complex", and
focuses on a group of young European artists, hackers, and intellectuals
determined to go their own way in a world dominated by elderly wealth.
Gibson and Sterling collaboratively wrote _The Difference Engine_, a
novel called "steampunk" by some; it deals with many cyberpunk themes
by using an alternate 19th-century Britain where Babbage's mechanical
computer technology has been fully developed.
_Snow Crash_, by Neal Stephenson, carries cyberpunk to a humorous
extreme; what else can one say about a work where the Mafia delivers
pizza and the main character's name is "Hiro Protagonist"?
Larry McCaffrey edited an anthology, _Storming the Reality Studio_,
which has snippets of many cyberpunk works, as well as critical
articles about cyberpunk, and a fairly good bibliography. Other works
of criticism are Bukatman's _Terminal Identity_ and Slusser and
Shippey's _Fiction 2000: Cyberpunk and the Future of Narrative_.
Some other good cyberpunk works include:
Walter Jon Williams, _Hardwired_: a smuggler who pilots a hovertank
decides to take on the Orbital Corporations that control his world.
Walter Jon Williams, _Voice of the Whirlwind_: a corporate soldier's
clone tries to discover what happened to his "original copy".
Greg Bear, _Blood Music_: a genetic engineer "uplifts" some of his own
blood cells to human-level intelligence, with radical consequences.
Pat Cadigan, _Synners_: hackers and other misfits pursue a deadly new
"virus" when direct brain interfaces first appear in near-future LA.
(Some good out-of-print works to look for are Cadigan's _Mindplayers_,
Michael Swanwick's _Vacuum Flowers_, Daniel Keyes Moran's _The Long
Run_, and Vernor Vinge's short story "True Names".)
---
5. Magazines about cyberpunk and related topics
Some magazines which are popular among cyberpunk fans are:
_Mondo 2000_
P O Box 10171
Berkeley, CA 94709-0171
Voice (510)845-9018, Fax (510)649-9630
Editorials: editor@mondo2000.com
Subscriptions: subscriptions@mondo2000.com
Advertising: advertising@mondo2000.com
HTTP site at "http://www.mondo2000.com/"
Many cyberpunk fans have an uneasy relationship with _Mondo 2000_;
their esteem for it varies according to the amount of technical
content and affected hipness in the articles. Nonetheless, if anything
could claim to be the cyberpunk "magazine of record", this is it.
With the departure of many of those providing creative impetus
(notably, R.U. Sirius), its days may be numbered.
_bOING-bOING_
11288 Ventura Boulevard #818
Studio City, CA 91604
Voice (310)854-5747, Fax (310)289-4922
mark@well.com
HTTP site at "http://www.well.com/user/mark/"
_bOING-bOING_'s status is uncertain; most of its writers now work for
_Wired_, it has ceased newsstand distribution and no longer offers
subscriptions. However, if one can get a copy, it's worth looking at.
_Wired_
P.O. Box 191826
San Francisco, CA 94119
Voice (415)904-0660, Fax (415)904-0669
Credcard subscriptions: 1-800-SO-WIRED (1-800-769-4733)
Information: info@wired.com
Subscriptions: subscriptions@wired.com
HTTP site at "http://www.hotwired.com"
The magazine which, through aggressive positioning, has managed to
become the "magazine of record" for modern techno-aware culture. It's
aimed more at technically-oriented professionals with disposable
income, but many cyberpunk fans like the articles on network- and
future-related topics.
_SF EYE_
P.O. Box 18539
Asheville, NC 28814
HTTP site at "http://www.empathy.com/eyeball".
Described by some as the "house organ of the cyberpunk movement",
founded by Stephen P. Brown at the urging of his friends Gibson,
Shirley, and Sterling. Published semi-annually, and contains a regular
column by Sterling.
_Phrack_
603 W. 13th #1A-278
Austin, TX 78701
phrack@well.com
FTP site at "ftp.fc.net:/pub/phrack"
HTTP site at "http://freeside.com/phrack.html"
_2600 Magazine_
Subscription correspondence: 2600 Subscription Dept.
P.O. Box 752, Middle Island, NY, 11953-0752
Letters/Article submissions: 2600 Editorial Dept.
P.O. Box 99, Middle Island, NY, 11953-0099
2600@well.com
FTP site at "ftp://ftp.2600.com/pub/"
HTTP site at "http://www.2600.com/"
Two mainstays of the computer underground. _Phrack_ deals more with people
and goings-on in the community, while _2600_ focuses on technical
information.
---
6. Cyberpunk in visual media (movies and TV)
What about movies based on Gibson's stories?
Gibson's _Alien 3_ script?
TV gave us the late, lamented _Max Headroom_, which featured oodles of
cyberpunk concepts. The Bravo cable network and the Sci-Fi Channel are
rerunning the few episodes that were made. TV also gave us the somewhat
bloated _Wild Palms_, with a "cyberspace", evil corporations, and a
cameo by William Gibson.
Also shown on the Sci-Fi Channel is _TekWar_, a series based on
William Shatner's "Tek" novels, which evolved from a set of TV movies
based on those novels. While possessing some tranditionally cyberpunk
elements and extended "cyberspace runs", they (or at least the TV
movies) tend to boil down to good guys vs. bad guys cop
stories. (_TekLords_ features a central plot element that those who
have read _Snow Crash_ will recognize.)
_Blade Runner_, based loosely on Philip K. Dick's novel _Do Androids
Dream of Electric Sheep?_, is considered the archetypical cyberpunk
movie. (Gibson has said that the visuals in _Blade Runner_ match his
vision of the urban future in _Neuromancer_.) Few other movies have
matched it; some that are considered cyberpunk or marginally so are
_Alien_ and its sequels, _Freejack_, _The Lawnmower Man_, _Until the
End of the World_, the "Terminator" movies, _Total Recall_, _Strange
Days_, and _Brainstorm_.
Cyberpunk stories can also be found in Japanese _anime_ films,
including the _Bubblegum Crisis_ series and _Ghost in the Shell_.
There is an hourlong documentary called "Cyberpunk" available on video
from Mystic Fire Video. It features some interview-style conversation
with Gibson, is generally low-budget, and the consensus opinion on the
net is that it isn't really worth anyone's time. Gibson is apparently
embarrassed by it.
Regarding films based on Gibson stories: At one point a fly-by-night
operation called "Cabana Boys Productions" had the rights to
_Neuromancer_; this is why the front of the _Neuromancer_ computer
game's box claims it is "soon to be a motion picture from Cabana
Boys". The rights have since reverted to Gibson, who is sitting on
them at the moment.
Gibson's short story "Johnny Mnemonic" was made into a big-budget
full-length motion picture. Gibson himself wrote the screenplay and
was a close consultant to the director; the result "has his blessing",
so to speak. As might be expected, there are many additions to the
short story as well as outright differences. The film contains
elements not only from the original story, but also from _Neuromancer_
and _Virtual Light_; there is much more violent action, and the ending
is more upbeat. Very significantly, Molly does not appear in the film;
her place is taken by a character named "Jane" (who has no inset
eyeglasses or retractable claws) due to issues surrounding use of the
Molly character in any future _Neuromancer_ production. (The film was
not a critical or box-office success in the U.S., which Gibson has
partly blamed on the post-production editing; he claims the longer
Japanese release is the better one.)
"The Gernsback Continuum" was adapted into a short (15 minute) film in
Britain; it has been shown on some European TV networks, but I don't
know if it's available in the US. Rumors also abound that "New Rose
Hotel" will be brought to the big screen by various directors. Other
rumors claim that _Count Zero_ will be made into a film titled
_The Zen Differential_.
William Gibson wrote one of the many scripts for _Alien 3_. According
to him, only one detail from his script made its way to the actual
film: the bar codes visible on the backs of the prisoners' shaved
heads. A synopsis of Gibson's script can be found in part 3 of the
_Alien_ Movies FAQ list, available as
"rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/news.answers/movies/alien-faq/part3".
The whole thing is available as
"ftp://cathouse.org/pub/cathouse/movies/scripts/".
---
7. _Blade Runner_
There is a _Blade Runner_ FAQ which is available via anonymous FTP as
"rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/news.answers/movies/bladerunner-faq",
and at URL "http://www.uq.oz.au/~csmchapm/bladerunner/". It
answers many of the more common questions. Here are short answers to
the most common.
a. There are several alternate versions. The original theatrical
release in the US omitted the Batty-Tyrell eye-gouging sequence and a
few other bits; these were added back in Europe and the video
release. In 1992, a "director's cut" was released, now available on
video, which omits the Deckard voiceover and the "happy" ending, and
reinserts the "unicorn scene". Before that, however, a different cut
(known as the "workprint") was shown at two theaters, one in LA, the
other in San Francisco, for a brief period; this has a different title
sequence and soundtrack, some different dialogue, no voiceover and no
happy ending, but no unicorn sequence. (In my opinion, it was the
best version.)
b. The 5/6 replicants problem: This is widely accepted as an editing
glitch which slipped through to the release. The film originally
featured a fifth "live" replicant, "Mary", who was later deleted. In
the workprint, the line "one got fried ..." is changed to "two got
fried ...". Bryant does not include Rachel in the original six escaped
replicants. However ...
c. Internal clues, such as lack of emotion, the photographs, and the
reflective eyes, do suggest that Deckard is a replicant. However, this
is not _explicitly_ stated in any cut. The "unicorn scene" gives this
theory more weight.
An excellent resource for any fan is Paul Sammon's in-depth book
_Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner_, which goes over the
differences between the various versions in minute detail.
K.W. Jeter has written two novels which are sequels to the movie:
_Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human_ and _Blade Runner: Replicant
Night_. One's judgement of the "appropriateness" of this may be
influenced by the fact that Jeter was a good friend of Philip
K. Dick's. The first sequel deals very directly with the "extra
replicant" and "Deckard a replicant?" issues. The second sequel
involves Deckard's participation in making a movie about his
experiences hunting Roy Batty et. al. (as seen by us in the movie).
More sequels by Jeter are apparently to come.
---
8. Cyberpunk music. What about Billy Idol's album?
There is a bit of confusion as to what "cyberpunk music" really is. Is
it "music that deals with cyberpunk themes", or "music that people in
a cyberpunk future would listen to"?
Those who claim there _is_ cyberpunk music usually say the fast,
synthesized, and sample-oriented forms such as techno, rave, and
industrial music are "cyberpunk".
In late 1993 Billy Idol released an album called "Cyberpunk", which
garnered some media attention; it seems to have been a commercial and
critical flop. Billy made some token appearances on the net, in
alt.cyberpunk and on the WELL, but his public interest in the area seems
to have waned. No matter how sincere his intentions might have been,
scorn and charges of commercialization have been heaped upon him
in this and other forums.
---
9. What is [famous person]'s email address?
William Gibson has no public e-mail address. In fact, he doesn't
really care about computers all that much; he didn't use one until he
wrote _Mona Lisa Overdrive_, and was thinking of kids playing
videogames when he developed his "cyberspace".
Some authors who _are_ on the net (and some of their works, if not previously
mentioned):
- Tom Maddox (tmaddox@halcyon.com) (_Halo_)
- Bruce Sterling (bruces@well.com)
- Rudy Rucker (rucker@mathcs.sjsu.edu) (_Software_, _Wetware_, _Transreal!_)
- Vernor Vinge (vinge@vrinimi.com)
- Pat Cadigan (cadigan@aol.com)
- John Shirley (rickenharp@aol.com) (_Eclipse_ trilogy, _Heatseeker_)
- Walter Jon Williams (walter@thuntek.net)
For courtesy's sake, please don't abuse these addresses; most people
have better things to do with their time than answer floods of fan mail.
---
10. What is this "PGP" everyone is talking about?
"PGP" is short for "Pretty Good Privacy", a public-key cryptosystem
that is the mainstay of the cypherpunk movement. "OK, so what's a
public-key cryptosystem?", you now ask.
A public-key cryptosystem allows one to send secret messages with the
assurance that the receiver will know who the sender was. (This is
important if, say, you are sending your credit-card number to buy an
expensive item; ordinary e-mail is somewhat easy to fake.) The message
is said to be "signed" by a "digital signature". Consider two people,
Alice and Bob. Each has two mathematical functions, constructed via two
"keys", A and B. A message encrypted with key A can be decrypted only
by key B, and a message encrypted with key B can be decrypted only by
key A. Key A is kept secret, known only to its owner, and is called
the "private" key; key B is given to anyone who wants it, and is
called the "public" key.
Suppose Alice is sending a message to Bob. She first encrypts it with
her private key, and then encrypts the result with Bob's public
key. This is then sent to Bob. Bob decrypts the message using his
private key, and decrypts the result with Alice's public key. The fact
that he was able to decrypt using his private key means Alice inteded
the message for him, and that only he can read it; the fact that
Alice's public key decrypted the result means that Alice was the true
author of the message (since only Alice has the required private key
to encrypt).
Thus, when you see a "PGP public key block" at the end of someone's
Usenet posts, that's the "public key" that you can use to encrypt
secret messages to them.
---
11. What is "Agrippa" and where can I get it?
"Agrippa: A Book of the Dead", the textual component of an art
project, was written by William Gibson in 1992. Gibson wrote a
semi-autobiographical poem, which was placed onto a computer disk.
This disk was part of a limited release of special "reader" screens;
the reader units themselves had etchings by Dennis Ashbaugh which were
light-sensitive, and slowly changed from one form to another, final,
form, when exposed to light. Also, the text of the poem, when read,
was erased from the disk - it could only be read once.
On the net, opinion on the Agrippa project ranged from "what an
interesting concept; it challenges what we think 'art' should be" to
"Gibson has sold out to the artsy-fartsy crowd" to "Gibson is right to
make a quick buck off these art people".
Naturally (some would say according to Gibson's plan), someone got
hold of the text of "Agrippa" and posted it to Usenet. A public copy
can be found in the file
"ftp://english-server.hss.cmu.edu/English.Server/Fiction/".
The author of this FAQ has a copy at
"ftp://bush.cs.tamu.edu/pub/misc/erich/", as well as a copy of a
parody, "agr1ppa", in the same directory. They are available to all who
ask for them.
---
12. Other on-line resources
A good first place to check for information on just about anything is
the Usenet FAQ repository at "ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/". It's also
good to try one of the large WWW indices such as Yahoo
("http://www.yahoo.com/search.html") and Alta Vista
("http://altavista.digital.com/").
The Rutgers SF archive, at "ftp://sflovers.rutgers.edu/pub/sf-lovers/",
contains many general SF-related items. It can also be accessed via
Web browser at "http://sflovers.rutgers.edu/Web/SFRG/".
Some author-related sites:
- Pat Cadigan info at
"http://www.wmin.ac.uk/~fowlerc/patcadigan.html"
- William Gibson web site at "http://www.vkool.com/gibson/",
bibliography at "http://www.slip.net/~spage/gibson/biblio.htm"
- Richard Kadrey's novel _Metrophage_ at
"http://gopher.well.com:70/1/Publications/authors/kadrey/metro/".
- Tom Maddox's novel _Halo_ at
"http://gopher.well.com:70/1/Publications/authors/maddox/halo/".
- Daniel Keys Moran info at "http://www.kithrup.com/dkm/"
- Rudy Rucker's home page at
"http://http://www.mathcs.sjsu.edu/faculty/rucker/rucker.html"
- John Shirley info at "http://www.darkecho.com/JohnShirley.html".
- Bruce Sterling info at
"http://riceinfo.rice.edu/projects/RDA/VirtualCity/Sterling/index.html",
"http://gopher.well.com:70/1/Publications/authors/Sterling/",
FTP site at "ftp://oak.zilker.net/bruces/" (includes an FTP-able copy of
his nonfiction book _The Hacker Crackdown_, about the attacks on
the "computer underground" in 1990).
- Walter Jon Williams' home page at "http://www.thuntek.net/~walter/index.htm"
A Web site containing pointers to information on the _Alien_ movies
is at URL "http://dutial.twi.tudelft.nl/~alien/alien.html". More
sites devoted to specific movies can be found by looking at
those movies' entries in the Internet Movie Database at URL
"http://us.imdb.org".
"ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/music/industrial-faq/" contains
the two-part industrial music FAQ list from "rec.music.industrial".
"hyperreal.com:/" has items of interest to ravers and about the rave
scene in general.
Survival Research Labs, that incomparable group of artists and
hardware hackers, has an HTTP site at "http://www.srl.org/". Another
SRL site can to be found at "http://www.construct.net/projects/srl/".
"ftp.csua.berkeley.edu:/pub/cypherpunks/" has many cryptography items,
including a directory containing the latest version of PGP for several
platforms. RSA Data Security's FTP site at "ftp.rsa.com" also contains
cryptography materials. FAQ lists covering cryptographic topics can be
found in the directory "ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/sci.crypt/".
An HTML page with pointers to these and many other references is
Fran Litterio's "Cryptography, PGP, and Your Privacy" at
"http://world.std.com/~franl/crypto.html".
_Wired_ magazine's HTTP site (at "www.wired.com") has, among
other things, complete contents of many back issues available online
(at "http://www.wired.com/wired/toc.html").
Many files of relevance to the real-life "computer undergrond" and the
hacking/phreaking communities can be found in one of the "Computer
Underground Digest" sites. One of these is at
"ftp://etext.archive.umich.edu/pub/CuD/", and includes a complete set of
issues of _Phrack_ magazine. The Digest itself has an HTTP site at
"http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest"; new issues are posted to the
Usenet newsgroup "comp.society.cu-digest". _Phrack_ issues can also be
had via _Phrack_'s HTTP site, at "http://freeside.com/phrack.html".
Happy exploring!
---
End of alt.cyberpunk FAQ.
--
Erich Schneider erich@bush.cs.tamu.edu http://bush.cs.tamu.edu/~erich
"You are a true believer. Blessings of the State; blessings of the
masses. Thou art a subject of the Divine, created in the image of
Man, by the masses, for the masses. Let us be thankful we have
commerce. Buy more. Buy more now. Buy. And be happy."
- Confession booth blessing, _THX-1138_

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